The camera-wielding owners and athletes behind Crested Butte’s Matchstick Productions had been eyeing that line in Alaska’s Tordrillo Mountains for years.

Last winter, snow conditions were perfect and the crew put the line on the to-do list. Cody Townsend stepped up and dropped into the ridiculously narrow chasm, plummeting more than 2,000 vertical feet through a cliff-lined choke that seems too tight. The 31-year-old skier’s segment in MSP’s “Days of My Youth” is storming the internet, with more than a million views and Townsend’s debut on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

MSP co-founder Murray Wais was behind the camera in the helicopter hovering above the dark funnel of snow and rock. He had full trust in Townsend, but the line was sketchy. He worried about barely covered rocks in the gorge.

“If you hit those rocks, it would be all over,” Wais said. “No one else dropped into it. Just Cody. In all honesty, there was quite a bit of danger but it was still straight forward. If you just went for it, it would be all good. He just had to go straight.”

Wais wasn’t overwhelmed with the footage he captured from the heli. Then he watched the POV footage from Townsend’s helmet-mounted GoPro.
“We knew that was one of the most special POV shots ever captured, that’s for sure,” Wais said. “So unique, so fast, so gutsy.”Read more…

I think we all expected Drew Shore to be named WCHA offensive player of the week, but I didn’t think the standout sophomore would have to share the honor. To be fair, however, Wisconsin defenseman Jake Gardiner deserved it too. Shore and Gardiner were named WCHA offensive players of the week after each contributed six points in two tournament games last weekend.

Shore had four goals and two assists in the 6-3 and 3-1 Denver Cup wins against Lake Superior State and Air Force, respectively. Gardiner had two goals and four helpers in a 4-4 tie against Michigan and 4-1 win against Michigan State in the College Hockey Showcase in Madison.

Shore beat out Gardiner for the Inside College Hockey (INCH) national player of the week award.